Travels
by RBlossom
Summary: Sequel to Meetings. Brina, Arathorn, Elladan, and Elrohir go on an orc hunt.
1. April

Chapter One

Disclaimer: I don't own any of Tolkien's characters I just borrowed them. The only character that belongs to me is my OC Brina. This story is set a few months after the ending of Meetings.

T.A. April 2905

Brina's POV

Not much had happened in the past six months since the departure of the elves from Imladris the days settled into a strangely quiet winter. No orc packs troubled our village for which we were extremely grateful. The only thing that happened of importance was after weeks of pleading and begging my brother finally relented telling how the hunting party had become treed by wolves. Requiring a rescue party I felt a smirk cross my face. _"It isn't every day you have blackmail material on Glorfindel and the twins? I am never going to let them live this one down."_ I thought to myself. My brother's voice drew me out of my thoughts.

"Tithen gwathel I see Elladan and Elrohir." he spoke like an excited child on his birthday.

Not that I had much room to talk I was just as excited to have them back with us. My brother and I were perched in a tree along the path Elladan and Elrohir would take. We had been waiting for a couple hours and now evening was settling in.

"I hope it is them this time because you have been saying you see them for the last hour," I told him half teasing half annoyed.

My brother glared at my comment. "Those bushes looked like them," he replied defensively.

I snorted with laughter. "Keep telling yourself that gwador nin." I patted his shoulder comfortingly. "Don't worry I still love you even if you can't tell bushes from our friends." Before darting away as my brother moved to swat me.

"I can really feel the love tithen gwathel." my brother muttered sarcastically. A laugh from the bottom of the tree startled us both.

"Who knew a tree could carry on both sides of a conversation muindor nin?" Elrohir said to Elladan with a merry grin.

"I know Elrohir it truly is interesting," Elladan responded. My brother and I were still shocked by their sudden arrival but quickly shook off our surprise. We made our way to the ground with haste.

"How long have you been here?" I asked.

"Long enough" Elrohir responded.

"It is good to see you Elladan and Elrohir," I spoke for us both.

"We are happy to be back with you," Elladan said with a smile.

"See I told you I saw them," Arathorn said to me.

I let out a long suffering sigh. "How was I to know you actually saw them this time and not bushes. Let's head home ada will be wondering what is keeping us."

As we started walking the twins shared an amused look before Elrohir spoke. "Bushes? We have missed you both."

I laughed as my brother struggled with the explanation. "Well you see there were these bushes and from a distance, they looked like people." He abruptly stopped as he heard the merry laughter coming from the sons of Elrond. "At least I am good for a laugh," he muttered,

"That you are mellon nin." Elladan clapped him on the shoulder. "What are you both doing out here?"

"I was waiting to greet you." my brother spoke with certainty

"I am out here to make sure my brother doesn't get treed by any wolves while he waits for you two," I responded with a smirk.

The twins shared a disbelieving look before turning to look at Arathorn. "You told her mellon nin. How could you? We will never live this down." Elrohir spoke desperately.

I watched my brother look everywhere but the twins faces. "I couldn't help it she was very persistent and finally I gave in and told her," he whispered to them.

The twins swiveled to look at me. "Is there any way you can just forget this Brina?" Elladan asked me nervously.

"No way it is not every day I have blackmail material on you and Glorfindel."

The twins just groaned in dismay before falling silent. I turned to look at them I could tell they were already plotting their revenge. _"Those two will get me back for this."_ I thought to myself as we made our way out of the woods and into the village. Around us, dusk had settled in as we passed the lights of the houses twinkled out the windows. Ahead of us, I could see our home and on the steps, our ada waited for us.

"You're late." ada spoke trying to sound stern but failing miserably.

"The twins or us ada?" I asked innocently.

"Both of you." ada responded matter factly. "Adilya has kept some supper for all of you. Welcome back Elladan and Elrohir."

"It is good to be back Arador and sorry for being later than we had planned," Elrohir spoke.

Our father lets out a booming laugh. "I was just giving you all a hard time. No harm was done now come and have some supper."

We quickly made our way to the great room and filled our plates with the delicious stew Adilya had made. The next few hours passed in merriment and fun before we all headed to our rooms for the night.

"Ready for tomorrow tithen gwathel." my brother asked before we parted for the night.

"Yes, gwador nin I am really excited to be joining you and the twins on your hunt. Good night" I told him before entering my room.

"Good night tithen gwathel." he replied before I shut the door.

As I lay in my bed that night I thought ahead to tomorrow and the hunt. This was no ordinary hunt. We were going orc hunting for the next few months with the twins. Many thoughts passed through my head before I drifted off to sleep.

Next Morning...

Brina's POV

I awoke with excitement and dressed with haste before hurrying out my door to the great hall for breakfast. As I entered the room the delicious smells hit me making my mouth water. At the table sat my father, brother, and friends. My father noticed me first as my brother and friends were engrossed in a conversation.

"Good morning iel nin!" my father greeted me with a welcoming smile.

"Good morning ada!" I greeted him with a kiss on the cheek before taking my seat by now my brother and friends have noticed my arrival.

"Good morning!" they chorused.

"Good morning to you all." I returned the greeting before we all filled our plates with breakfast. Silence reigned as we made quick work of our food. After finishing our food we sat back and took a moment to relax before getting ready to leave on our journey. We were all lost in our own thoughts when Ada's voice broke through.

"Where do you intend to go on your journey?" he asked with concern.

After a moment of staring at each other trying to decide who would answer my brother finally spoke. "We will journey to Bree then skirt around the Shire before making our way through the Misty Mountains and heading home.

Ada nodded his head. "I will see you all outside before you leave," he spoke as he rose.

We all rose to leave the room and gather everything for our trip I noticed my brother and father speaking quietly. My brother met my curious gaze. "Go ahead Brina I will catch up with you." I nodded my head before continuing on my way.

" _I wonder what they are talking about."_ I wondered to myself as I walked to my room. Elladan and Elrohir were already out of sight. I shook my head as I couldn't find an answer to my question. I decided to give up and finished gathering my gear before taking a glance around the room. Reality started to descend on me as I realized I wouldn't be back for a few months. I realized how much thisplace had come to mean to me and how I truly viewed this place as my home. Torn between excitement and sadness I made my way out the door shutting it softly behind me before making my way outside.

Elladan and Elrohir were already waiting for us but my brother and father still hadn't arrived yet. As I waited I noticed Elrohir holding something that was wrapped carefully. My curiosity was peeked. "Elrohir what are you holding?"

I watched the twins share a secretive look before Elrohir answered cryptically. "You will have to wait and see."

Now my curiosity hit a new high. _"What could it be?"_ I wondered with a touch of impatience.

The twins just smiled at each other.

Meanwhile...

Arathorn's POV

As I made my way hurriedly outside to join my sister and friends I thought about the conversation I had just had with my father. I was preparing to leave with the others when my father motioned me over. Just as my father was about to speak I turned to see Brina waiting for me in the doorway. I told her to go on ahead. I could see the question in her eyes as she left before turning to face my father.

"Ion nin, I just wanted to speak with you by yourself before you all leave."

"Of course adar what did you want to speak to me about."

"I want you to look after your sister." he stated firmly.

"I always do adar," I replied with confusion.

"Well, ion nin I want you to take extra care on this trip. Your sister has never been on an orc hunt like this one especially one with the sons of Elrond," he responded.

Suddenly the realization hit me of why my father was speaking to me. Elladan and Elrohir's hatred of orcs were legendary. My father knew as did I that sometimes they took some great risks on these hunts and he didn't want Brina to be injured because of their hatred.

"I will protect gwathel nin with my life adar," I responded with understanding in my voice.

"I know you will ion nin and be careful yourself. It is a father's duty to worry about his children. Well, you had better hurry before the others get impatient." he told me before making his way outside.

I was brought out of my silent thoughts as I walked out the door to see my friends smiling at my sister as she seemed to be impatient about something. Then I noticed she was looking at the package Elrohir was holding in his hands.

Past...

I smiled thinking back to last night when they had shown me the sword. Right after I had bid good night to my sister I noticed Elladan and Elrohir stick their heads around the corner.

"What are you two doing?" I questioned.

"Sshhhhh." Elrohir hissed. "She will hear you."

"She who?" I whispered as I made my way over to them filled with confusion.

"Brina." Elladan answered with a roll of the eyes and a sigh of exasperation.

"Why don't you want Brina to hear us?" I asked them trying to understand what was going on.

"Because we don't want her to find out about the surprise we brought from Imladris for her," Elrohir answered as he pulled out a small sword. "It is just temporary until she comes to Imladris then we can make one specifically for her."

I held the sword in my hand it would fit her much better than any sword in the village. "She will greatly appreciate it mellon nin."

"We didn't want her going orc hunting with just a dagger and a bow," Elladan said to me as I handed the sword back to Elrohir.

"When are you going to give it to her?"

"Tomorrow just before we leave." Elrohir stated.

"Thanks for showing it to me and good night," I told them both before heading into my room.

"Good night mellon nin." they whispered to me before I shut the door.

Present...

After the sobering conversation with my father, I felt a smile cross my face as I watched the events unfold.

Brina's POV

I was too busy trying to figure out what the twins were hiding to notice the arrival of my brother and father. Finally, though I noticed them especially my brother who was grinning at me.

"What?" I asked him with confusion.

"Brina, we have brought something for you from Imladris," Elladan said to me before nodding at Elrohir to hand me what he was holding.

I took the package carefully still a little confused about what was going on. I unwrapped the package to find a small sword. I found as I held it that it fit me quite well much better than any sword here in the village. "Thank you, both!" I whispered to them with a smile. I handed the sword to my brother who had moved to my side before hugging the both of them tightly.

"This sword is just temporary until you can come to Imladris but we didn't want you orc hunting without your own sword," Elrohir told me as I stepped back taking my sword back.

The voice of my father interrupted my thoughts.

"You should all probably get started on your journey. Be careful," he spoke.

I moved to hug my father. I held onto him tightly before kissing his cheek. "I love you ada and I will see you in a few months."

"I love you too iel nin. I will miss you deeply while you are gone," he stated with emotion before turning to bid farewell to my brother and friends.

We turned to leave when my father's voice called. "Arathorn remember what we talked about."

My brother looked at my enquiring face before turning back to our father. "I will adar I promise."

Then we started out on our journey I wanted to ask what they were talking about but decided against it. I turned back to wave at my father before we entered the forest. He still stood on the steps watching us and he returned my wave before turning to go into the house. I lingered emotion choking me until I felt my brother's hand on my shoulder. "Come on tithen gwathel."

I turned to face him before I started walking up ahead of us Elladan and Elrohir had stopped to wait for us. If my brother noticed the emotion in my eyes he wisely chose not to say anything. By the time we joined Elladan and Elrohir I had my emotions under control.

As we walked I observed the woods that were so familiar to me now. The trees had put on their spring colors fresh vibrant green leaves. Flowers bloomed around us. Birds had returned chirping in the trees as they built their nests above us. Squirrels scampered in the trees and on the ground. The wind danced through the trees and tossed our hair around. The sunshine shone down in patches through the leaves.

The month long trip to Bree was surprisingly uneventful like the winter we had had. No orcs disturbed us not even any wild animals caused us any trouble. As we neared Bree I thought to myself. _"In other words, this trip has been totally boring"_ I would later regret these thoughts and wish for the boredom of the trip to Bree.

"I am surprised this trip has been uneventful so far," I said as we neared the town.

"I know tithen gwathel it surprises me as well." my brother stated. "I have a feeling though that it won't last"

The twins nodded their heads in agreement.

If only I had known how prophetic my brother's words would be.


	2. May

Chapter Two

T.A. May 2905

Bree

Brina's POV

We entered Bree as silently as shadows barely even noticed by the inhabitants but those who did notice us shied away from us like we were the plague.

"How does it feel to back tithen gwathel?" my brother questioned beside me.

"Glad to know nothing much has changed since I left with you gwador nin," I responded sarcastically as a suspicious hobbit made a wide circle around us as we passed making our way to the Prancing Pony. We had decided to spend the night here before continuing on our journey. As we entered the Prancing Pony it was as if nothing had changed in the year and a half I had been gone.

People bustled around us barely noticing our presence as we made our way back to a deserted corner table that used to be my table. The noise from the voices around us grated on my nerves and hurt my ears after being used to the quiet peacefulness of the road. I looked over to Elladan and Elrohir wondering how they could stand the noise around us with their much better hearing.

A barmaid bustled over to us. "What can I get for you?" she asked nervously.

"We will all take ales to drink. What are you serving for supper?" My brother inquired.

"We are serving fried chicken with mash potatoes and gravy with bread." The barmaid spoke hesitantly clearly wanting to leave our table as quickly as possible.

My brother shared a look with me and the twins as if asking us silently if that was okay. I nodded in acceptance and saw out of the corner of my eye that Elladan and Elrohir did the same.

"We will take four of what you are serving, please." my brother stated. With a nod, the barmaid moved to place our orders and get our ales.

"You would think we were going to eat her with how quick she left." Elladan stated. I looked at the twins observing them. They looked mysterious and threatening with their gray cloaks covering their faces in shadow. If they weren't my good friends I would have put a great distance between us. I could only imagine how frightening they appeared to those who didn't know them.

I let out a small laugh at what Elladan said turning to say something in response when I felt my brother touch my shoulder.

"Tithen gwathel, look over there it's your best friend in the whole world." my brother spoke. I turned to where my brother was pointing to see the man from a year and a half ago who had grabbed me. He was still just as drunk as he had been that night and fatter than the last time I had seen him.

" _Drinking like a fish can do that to you."_ I thought to myself before turning to my brother with a glare.

My brother's eyes danced with a teasing light. "Want to go say hello?"

"No," I stated firmly glaring even more fiercely. My brother's laughter boomed around us a few people at the tables near us turned to stare before turning back around.

I turned to see Elladan and Elrohir sharing a confused glance.

"I sense there is a story behind this," Elrohir asked.

I sighed. "Yes, there is. You see the really drunk guy over there at the table."

"Yes," Elladan answered as he and Elrohir looked over at the man with disgust.

My brother let out a snort. "He learned the hard way not to grab tithen gwathel."

The twins were now eyeing me intently. "What did you do Brina?" Elrohir asked me.

"Almost caused a bar fight." my brother whispered loudly. The twins eyes got big.

"I didn't I just kneed him in a sensitive part of his body then slammed his head on the table," I answered hotly. "You would have thought he would have learned but when I left that night he and some of his friends jumped me outside. That is how I officially met my brother so I can't complain." I said as I shared a smile with my brother.

"That is an interesting way to meet someone," Elladan stated with a smile.

Just then the barmaid made her way across the room with our ales. She set the ales down quickly before darting off without a word.

"Isn't she a ray of sunshine," I muttered under my breath as I took a sip of my ale.

Silence settled in around us as we waited for our meals. We all observed the people around us as we waited. Some time had passed when the barmaid brought our meals to us before again darting off without a word. The food smelled delicious as we started eating. We were almost done when someone cleared his throat.

We all looked up to see Butterbur standing before us. "What brings you here ranger?" he asked Arathorn nervously.

"We are just passing through Butterbur. The meal was delicious." my brother complimented.

"I am glad you enjoyed it," Butterbur replied with a pleased look. As he was turning to leave my brother stopped him.

"Butterbur, we do need three rooms for the night." my brother said.

"Of course of course ranger, we just happen to have three rooms available side by side. If you all would follow me I will show you to your rooms." Butterbur said.

We all stood to follow Butterbur to our rooms. "Here you are do you need anything else."

"No thank you." my brother answered for all of us.

"Well, then good night to you all," Butterbur said before leaving.

"Who gets which room?" I asked looking between my brother and the twins.

"Brina you take the middle one. Elladan and Elrohir you take the one on the left and I will take the one on the right." my brother stated with authority.

"Good night everyone see you in the morning."

"Good night Brina!" my brother and the twins chorused before we all went to our rooms for the night.

I shut the door firmly and slid the lock into place before turning to survey my room. There was a small bed on the far wall but at least it looked clean. _"I am just glad to not be sleeping on the ground tonight. I really miss my own room and ada."_ I thought to myself with a touch of homesickness. I shook off my gloomy thoughts and prepared to go to sleep. There wasn't much else in my room beside the bed but I didn't mind. I was just thankful to have my own room and privacy. Not that I regretted coming but I was happy to have some time alone. I drifted off to sleep quickly and slept soundly. We had all agreed at supper to get up early and have breakfast before leaving Bree.

A knock on my door startled me out of a sound sleep. "Brina its time to get up." my brother's muffled voice came through the door.

I groaned when I realized it was still dark out. "Give me a minute gwador nin." I called to him before pushing myself out of my nice comfy bed to start getting dressed for the day. I quickly gathered my things and pulled the door open to find my brother leaning against the opposite wall waiting patiently for me.

"Did I wake you?" my brother asked with a cheery smile that was too bright for this time of morning.

"Yes, I was sleeping really good," I replied grumpily. "Where are Elladan and Elrohir?" I asked when I realized the twins weren't there.

"They went on down to order our breakfast. Sorry, I had to wake you tithen gwathel." my brother told me.

"No, I am sorry gwador nin we all agreed to get up early. It was no reason to snap at you. I am just not a morning person." I said.

"It is forgiven tithen gwathel let's go down and have some breakfast."

I nodded my head in agreement and we made our way back down to the bar to join the twins for breakfast. The scene that greeted us was much different than the one the night before. Instead of noise, the room was oddly silent as we made our way over to the table we had sat at last night. _"It reminds me of the morning I met Arathorn for breakfast before leaving with him."_ I thought to myself as we took our seats.

"Breakfast will be here soon," Elrohir told us.

I just nodded my head still trying to wake up. My brother and the twins had traveled long enough with me to know not to start a conversation with me before breakfast. Shortly after we had sat down Butterbur himself brought our breakfast. It was nothing like what Adilya made at home but it wasn't bad either. As I ate my breakfast I looked around noticing we were the only people in the room. After we finished our breakfast we rose from the table. My brother made his way to pay Butterbur while the twins and I made our way outside to wait for Arathorn.

It wasn't long before my brother joined us outside. "Ready to go," he asked.

We nodded our heads and set out making our way out of the sleepy town. It didn't take us long to leave Bree behind as we were leaving the sun was just making its appearance in the sky. The beautiful colors danced across the sky we all took a moment to enjoy the beauty around us.

We took our time making our way around the Shire making sure to stay clear of the Barrow Downs.

Two weeks later...

Brina's POV

Just like our trip to Bree, the past two weeks had been strangely quiet. "Have you ever had a trip this quiet," I asked curiously.

"No, we have never had a trip this peaceful Brina. It is very strange." Elladan answered my question.

That night we finished our circuit around the Shire stopping on the Shireside of Sarn Ford deciding to cross in the morning when it was light.

"Tithen gwathel we will set up camp if you will go gather firewood just don't get lost." my brother said the last part with an impish smile.

"I will try not to gwador nin," I responded moving off into the surrounding woods. I quickly gathered an armload of firewood just as I was reaching for one last piece of wood I heard a twig snap off to my left. I looked off to where the noise had come from. "Gwador nin if you are trying to scare me it isn't funny," I called. Nobody answered me. An uneasy feeling stole over me I felt like I was being watched by unfriendly eyes. _"Time to get back to camp Brina,"_ I told myself before turning and hurrying back to my brother and the twins. The feeling of being watched only got stronger but every time I turned around to look behind me I couldn't see anything in the growing darkness. _"You are just being paranoid,"_ I told myself over and over. I breathed a sigh of relief when I saw the light from our campfire up ahead. I stepped into the circle of light to find Elladan cooking supper while Elrohir and my brother lounged on the ground.

"What took you so long?" Elladan asked me without turning around.

I made my way over to the campfire to drop off the firewood. "It is hard to see in the dark Elladan not all of us have elf eyes like yours," I said a little testily still shaking off my fear.

They all turned to look at me a little shocked before anyone could say anything I blurted out. "I am sorry Elladan I didn't mean to snap I am just a little tired please forgive me."

"There is nothing to forgive Brina. You are right though Elrohir or I should have gone to gather the firewood." Elladan stated holding up a hand when he saw I was about to protest.

I went down and sat by my brother while Elladan finished supper with Elrohir's help. I turned to find my brother staring at me intently. "Is everything alright tithen gwathel?"

I felt foolish for my overreaction in the woods. I had behaved like a scared little girl that was scared of things that went bump in the night.

"Yes, gwador nin just tired."

My brother's eyes narrowed and I quickly looked away. "I don't believe you?" he whispered in my ear.

I felt frustration well up within me my brother was always to perceptive especially when it came to me. I knew he wouldn't give up until I told him so I decided to save myself a lot of trouble and just tell him. "I was almost finished gathering firewood. I reached down to gather one last piece when I heard a twig snap I thought it was you or the twins trying to scare me. When I called out though nobody answered me and I started to get uneasy. I felt like I was being watched so I hurried back here. It was just nothing. I was being paranoid." I finished quickly.

I looked up to see the concern on my brother's face and looked toward the fire to find the twins had been listening as well.

"You were not being paranoid tithen gwathel. It is not like you to be made uneasy by a twig snapping. By the way, we were all here at the camp so it wasn't us trying to scare you." my brother stated firmly.

"It was probably just a fox or other small creature," Elrohir said.

"You are likely right Elrohir. I feel foolish."

"Supper is ready everyone," Elladan called to us.

We made our way to the fire to get our supper before sitting down to eat. We had just finished our silent supper everyone lost in their own thoughts. Arathorn stood to do the dishes. Once the dishes were done Elladan went to take the first watch while the rest of us got ready to sleep. Before Elladan reached the spot where he was to keep watch for the night a lonely mournful howl split the darkness. We all froze as another howl answered the first to be joined by others. Elladan made his way back over to us.

"Wolves." he stated grimly.

"A whole pack of them to be precise muindor." Elrohir stated just as grimly.

"Not to add to the negativity mellon nin but we are surrounded by the sound of things." My brother stated calmly.

"Grab all the packs and get in the trees quickly," Elladan said with a note of urgency in his voice. We made a quick dash for our packs and made our way into a tree. I heard the angry snarls of the wolves as they dashed out from the surrounding trees trying to stop their prey from escaping. Elladan and Elrohir made it safely into the tree followed by myself. My brother refused to let me go last and I knew I would only waste valuable time arguing with him. I hurried up to the branch where the twins were seated I was almost there when I lost my footing and would have fallen if Elladan hadn't reached out to grab me.

"Careful Brina." he said as he pulled me up.

"Thank you, Elladan."

I turned to see my brother making his way up the tree but he still wasn't out of reach of the wolves. An especially bold male tried to grab my brother's ankle and yank him out of the tree. I gasped when I saw the wolf try to grab my brother. My brother kept climbing though but the wolf wasn't ready to give up yet. I watched as the wolf made to try again only to fall down with an arrow in its throat. I turned to see Elrohir lowering his bow just then my brother made it safely to the branch. I felt relief flood through me.

"Looks like we aren't going anywhere tonight," Elrohir said.

I looked down to see several angry wolves circling the tree. The wolves didn't look like they had any intention of leaving anytime soon.

I breathed a sigh of relief. "I am just glad everyone is alright."

"See you weren't being paranoid tithen gwathel." my brother said before laughing.

I looked at the twins then back to my brother "What is so funny?"

When my brother could finally speak he told me. "Tithen gwathel now you can say you have been treed by wolves."

I looked at the twins to find them grinning. I for one wasn't amused in the slightest.

"Looks like we are spending the night in the tree," I said ignoring my laughing brother and the twins.

Finally, we all settled down but none of us got any sleep that night. By the time the sun rose in the sky the wolves were long gone giving up and looking for easier prey.

The twins went to make sure before we all got out of the tree but they came back to inform us that the wolves were gone. I was just glad to be out of the tree. It was very uncomfortable.

"Let's have some breakfast before we start our journey for the day." my brother said as he restarted the dying fire.

We were eager to have some breakfast after the night we had had. We ate our food quickly before taking our gear and making sure the fire was out before resuming our trek.

"I apologize in advance if I am grouchy today," I said to my brother and the twins as we walked.

They all let out a groan as they remembered how irritable I got when I was sleep deprived.

The next two weeks were quiet again but our good fortune was about to run out.


	3. June

Chapter Three

T.A June 2905

Brina's POV

It had been two weeks since we all had been treed by the wolves. We were now taking the long way to the Misty Mountains before we would make our way back home to the Angle. Summer was making its presence known as the heat of summer was making it unbearable to travel during the afternoon. Even Elladan and Elrohir who usually didn't feel the changes in temperature like we did were suffering from the heat. We opted to travel in the early morning and evenings when the sun wasn't bearing down on us.

"I wish it would rain and cool things down," I whined to no one in particular as we walked that evening.

"If it was raining tithen gwathel then you would be complaining of the wetness and the mud." My brother replied.

I fell silent part of me knew that my brother was right the other part of me just didn't care. I chose to remain silent instead of letting loose the string of other complaints I had floating around in my head. I knew that all of us were miserable and my complaining wasn't going to make anybody feel any better.

We continued walking until it was too dark for my brother and me to see the trail in front of us when up ahead we heard Elladan call out to us.

"Let's make camp here tonight."

We slowly made our way to where the twins were standing in a small clearing. My brother looked around us before agreeing.

"Yes, this seems like a good place to camp for the night."

With those words, we all fell into the routine of setting up camp.

"We will be back," Elrohir said to us as he and Elladan moved off into the surrounding darkness. "We are going to gather firewood and scout around the perimeter."

My brother and I just nodded our heads at his words.

"Tithen gwathel I am going to get some water. I saw a stream little ways back." My brother said to me before he also was lost in the darkness around us.

I made my way to the center of the clearing and cleared a spot for the firepit. Then I gathered kindling and the wood I could find on the edges of the clearing. I crouched down near the spot I had just cleared off pulling out my dagger and flint. I drug my dagger along the flint watching as sparks flew into the kindling. The sparks quickly grew into dancing orange flames as I fed the fire with twigs I had. The fire light danced around the clearing making the shadows dance in weird shapes. It wasn't too long before I heard my brother's footsteps as he returned with the water.

"Any trouble?" I questioned.

"No all is quiet," he answered reassuringly. "Elladan and Elrohir should be back before too much longer."

Just as I was pulling food out of the packs Elladan and Elrohir stepped out of the darkness as quiet as shadows.

"The perimeter is secure," Elrohir told us as he and Elladan dropped their armloads of firewood. I handed out the food to everyone as we gathered around the fire. We had all finished eating just listening to the night sounds around us. I looked over at the twins as shadows danced across their faces.

" _They seem troubled."_ I thought to myself. _"Should I ask or shouldn't I? Decisions decisions."_

"Is something wrong Elladan. Elrohir?" I asked out loud breaking the silence that surrounded us.

The twins both looked at me with shock. "What makes you think something is wrong Brina," Elladan asked.

"You just seem troubled," I answered sheepishly.

The twins shared a look before Elrohir decided to speak. "You are right Brina I guess we are troubled."

"By what?"

"It is just unnatural for us not to have run into any orcs on our journey. Usually, we have run into countless orc packs by now." Elladan spoke grimly.

"Isn't it a good thing that we haven't come across any orcs?"

My brother who had been listening silently to our conversation answered for the twins. "No tithen gwathel it isn't a good thing. Orcs normally roam everywhere but to not see them is cause for concern."

"Why?"

"If they aren't roaming wherever they want it means someone is directing them and it bodes ill for us all if that is true." Elrohir cut back in.

Once again silence descended on the camp but this time the silence was more oppressive and I felt a chill sweep through me that the flames of the fire couldn't drive out.

"For all our sakes I hope you are wrong," I whispered.

"We all hope we are wrong tithen gwathel but I have a feeling that we aren't wrong." my brother stated calmly. "We should all try to get some sleep."

"I will take the first watch," Elladan said as he stood moving off to the edge of the camp.

"I will take the second watch." Elrohir said as he moved to his bedroll.

"Then I will take the third watch and Brina you can take the final watch." my brother said as we both climbed into our bedrolls.

My brother and Elrohir drifted off to sleep easily but for me, sleep just wouldn't come. I kept replaying my brother and the twins words over in my head. _"I feel as if we are heading into the fight of our lives."_ I thought before sleep finally claimed me. It seemed like I had just fallen asleep when I felt someone shaking my shoulder.

"Tithen gwathel, wake up it is time for your watch." my brother's voice called to me.

I let out a groan before opening my eyes and pushing myself out of my bedroll. "I'm up I'm up gwador nin."

I slowly walked to the edge of the camp to keep watch. As I became more alert I noticed it was about an hour before dawn. _"The moon and stars are clouded over."_ I thought to myself as I looked at the sky above me with a sinking feeling. _"It is going to rain today."_

The hours passed quietly and the morning dawned with dark clouds that threatened to drop rain at any time. It wasn't long before my companions woke up to join me in eating some breakfast.

Elladan took one look at the dark forbidding clouds before saying. "It looks like it is going to rain."

My brother turned to look at me with a smirk. "Didn't you say something about wanting it to rain tithen gwathel," he asked sweetly. "It looks like you are going to get your wish."

The twins burst out laughing at my brother's words while I just glared darkly at them all.

"Very funny," I grumbled as we packed up our camp and started walking. A couple hours later the clouds that had threatened rain finally gave way. At first, it was a gentle rain that fell soaking us all and leaving us miserable. Then around midday, it started pouring so hard we could hardly see a foot in front of us. To add insult to injury the wind started blowing lightning lit up the sky and thunder crashed around us.

"I take it back," I muttered to myself.

"We need to find shelter." my brother yelled to be heard over the storm.

"There is a shallow dry cave not far ahead," Elrohir yelled back.

We trekked through the storm and the mud. My brother and I were covered in it by the time we reached the cave even the twins hadn't escaped without being covered in the brown goop.

We were all eager to enter the shelter of the cave but we didn't abandon caution either for caves were seldom unoccupied. We carefully scouted out the shallow cave.

"Doesn't look as if anybody has been here in a long time which is good for us." my brother said.

I couldn't help but silently agree with him. There was no dry firewood to be found outside because of the deluge. We hung our soaked cloaks to air dry before settling down to eat some supper.

I dug through the packs trying to find the food for our supper but my eyes hadn't adjusted to the darkness of the cave around us to see anything yet. I wasn't in the greatest of moods at the moment as I struggled to find what I was looking for. I was lost in my thoughts when I voice beside me startled me.

"Brina, let me find the food," Elrohir said.

"Gladly," I replied handing him the offending pack.

In no time Elrohir found the food and began handing it out.

" _How did he find the food in the pack so fast?"_ I wondered to myself for a moment as we ate our food. Then it hit me like a ton of bricks. _"Of course I forgot that elves see much better in the dark than us."_

There wasn't much for us to do after eating our food other than to get some sleep while one of us kept watch. As we all settled in for the night I couldn't help but think. _"I hope this rain is gone by the morning."_ Before drifting off to sleep.

I awakened a little before dawn to relieve my brother from his watch. I quickly climbed out of my bedroll making my way over to my brother who was standing by the entrance of the cave. My eyes had finally adjusted to the darkness of the cave.

"All quiet," I whispered as I came to stand beside my brother.

"Yes, all is quiet tithen gwathel except for the pouring rain."

I turned to watch the pouring rain outside with disappointment. "So much for hoping the rain would be gone. Gwador nin why don't you get some sleep I will keep watch."

My brother nodded his head before turning to make his way to his bedroll.

I turned to watch my brother and noticed how quickly he fell asleep. He must be more tired than I thought silently before turning back to look outside at the sheet of rain that was falling. The hours passed quietly. Soon my brother and the twins joined me in the waking world.

We sat down to eat. As we ate our food Elladan broke the silence. "I don't think it would be wise to go anywhere today with this rain. It would be dangerous to try to travel today especially for you two," he said looking at Arathorn and me.

My brother and I shared a silent look before my brother turned to reply. "I believe you are right Elladan besides it would be good to spend a day to rest."

" _Rest sounds good."_ I thought to myself.

Two weeks later...

Brina's POV

One day had turned into nearly two weeks. The rain didn't let up for a week then we had to wait a week for the ground to dry out enough so we could actually travel without sinking in the mud. Needless to say, we were all ready to leave the cave we had called home for the past two weeks.

"I am so glad to be traveling again," I said happily to no one in particular.

"Don't you want some more rain." my brother teased with a touch of sarcasm.

"No, I am not wishing for any rain anytime soon," I responded with a mock glare.

The twins just smiled at our sibling banter.

We had been walking for an hour when the twins who were in the lead called an abrupt halt. Elladan and Elrohir were kneeling down on the ground observing something intently.

I noticed as we hurried toward them that they were having a whispered conversation.

"What is wrong?" my brother asked looking at the twins.

"Look at the ground Arathorn. Brina." Elrohir said to us both.

We looked at the ground to see tracks on the ground. These tracks were deep and weren't made by any animal, man, dwarf, or elf.

There was only one creature that made tracks like this. Orcs!

I hadn't seen too many orc tracks in my life but I had seen enough to know what I was looking at.

My brother looked at the twins then to me. "Orcs," he whispered.

"Yes and only a week old," Elladan said with a fell light in his eyes.

"If we hurry we can catch up to them." Elrohir said with the same light in his eyes.

With that, we set off following the orc tracks Elladan and Elrohir going ahead of us. I felt troubled by what I had seen in the twins eyes having never seen them like this in the time I had known them. _"I have never seen them like this."_ I thought to myself.

"Tithen gwathel?" my brother whispered quietly beside me.

I wasn't sure when he had fallen into step with me. "I have never seen the twins like this I feel almost frightened by them."

My brother let out a sigh. "I am sorry tithen gwathel I should have warned you about how Elladan and Elrohir get on orc hunts."

"Why didn't you," I asked

"I was afraid that you wouldn't believe me if I did. They are so different from what they are like on thehunts."

I wanted to deny what my brother was saying but as I thought about it I knew my brother was right.

"Is that what ada was talking to you about before we left," I asked as the pieces of the puzzle fell into place in my mind.

"Ada told me to watch over you because he knew how the twins get on these hunts. He didn't want you getting hurt because of their recklessness."

I felt something I had never felt around the twins fear. "I almost wish we don't catch up to the orcs." I breathed quietly so that only my brother could hear me.

"I know the feeling tithen gwathel I have felt it many times." my brother told me as he gripped my shoulder comfortingly. "I go to watch over them and to make sure they don't get in over their heads."

" _What if they lead my brother to his death?"_ I thought to myself with dread.

I shook off the bad feeling I had before promising myself. _"I will keep my brother safe."_

We pushed ourselves for the next two weeks trying to catch up with orcs. After two weeks of hard travel and not a sign of the orcs. _"I hope we don't find the orcs."_ I thought as I looked at the twins.

Little did we know that we were closer to them than we thought.


	4. July

Chapter Four

T.A. July 2905

Brina's POV

We had been following the orc tracks for what seemed like forever. I felt like screaming for the whole world to hear. "Forget the stupid orcs." but figured that wouldn't go over well. I was so lost in my thoughts I didn't notice the others had stopped in front of me until I ran into my brother's back. My brother turned around to look at me but didn't speak. Something told me to speak quietly. "Sorry for running into you gwador nin I was lost in my thoughts. Why have we stopped?" I spoke in a hushed whisper.

"It's alright tithen gwathel just be more careful next time and to answer your question. Orcs are nearby." my brother whispered just as quietly.

I felt a chill run down my spine and double checked that I had my weapons even though I knew I had them. It was something I did when I was nervous.

I looked ahead of my brother to find Elladan and Elrohir were no longer ahead of us.

"How close are the orcs and where are the twins?"

"Not far and the twins went ahead to scout ahead." my brother answered.

I looked into my brother's eyes. He hesitated a moment before speaking again.

"Stay near me tithen gwathel no matter what happens."

I just nodded my head. Outwardly I looked calm but inside my mind was in turmoil. _"No matter what stay near my brother and protect him."_ I kept telling myself.

A hand on my shoulder jolted me out of my thoughts. "Don't worry tithen gwathel everything will be alright," he spoke trying to encouraging me.

I gave him a small smile. I should have known my brother would be able to pick up on my mood. My smile quickly faded when the twins suddenly reappeared in front of us. They didn't look like the friends I knew their eyes were hard and cold filled with a barely concealed rage. It took everything within me not to take a step back from them.

My brother noticed my change in behavior turned to face the twins but his hand remained on my shoulder as if offering silent comfort. "What news mellon nin."

"The orcs are a quarter of a mile ahead of us," Elladan said. "The orc pack has split into three different groups heading in different directions. The group ahead of us is the smallest with about twelve orcs."

"We must not delay. Let's attack them now." Elrohir said impatiently.

"I want to attack too Elrohir but we must use caution." my brother warned ever the voice of reason. "Do the orcs know we are here?"

"No, the orcs haven't caught our scent," Elladan answered just as impatient as his twin but knowing that Arathorn spoke the truth.

"Have the orcs stopped or are they moving?" my brother asked trying to gather all the facts before launching an attack.

"The orcs are stopped in a clearing," Elrohir answered him this time. "What does it matter? Let's just attack."

I felt an angry retort come to my lips but before I could speak my brother answered in a calm manner.

"It matters mellon nin we are outnumbered three to one. I want to form a sound attack plan that will keep us all safe as possible. I know you are angry and feel the need to kill these orcs. Please don't let your anger endanger us all mellon nin."

At my brother's words, the twins shared a look before turning back with a nod of acceptance.

"Good. Elladan, Elrohir you take to the right while Brina and I take the left. Any questions?"

When my brother received nods stating the negative.

"Let's hunt some orc." my brother said.

With those words, we set out quietly making the quarter mile trek to where the orcs had stopped. The walk took far less time than I would have liked. As we neared the clearing harsh orc voices could be heard up ahead. Silently my brother signaled all of us to our places. Elladan and Elrohir disappeared to the right like ghosts. My brother and I moved as quickly and quietly as we could to the left.

As we reached our position we could finally see into the clearing where the orcs were. As I looked there were twelve orcs arguing over something that we couldn't make out.

I looked to my brother. "Perfect time to attack." I mouthed to him.

He mouthed back. "Yes, it is but stay near me."

We both grabbed our bows readying an arrow.

I aimed for a particularly nasty looking orc with evil seeping out of every pore of its body. I waited for a second before releasing my arrow. At the same time, my brother and the twins released their arrows as well.

My arrow found its mark in the neck of the orc. The orc let out a gurgling sound before falling down dead. Three other orcs fell as well from the arrows of my brother and the twins.

For a heartbeat, nothing moved in the clearing as the orcs seemed to stunned by the fall of their comrades but the orcs recovered quickly letting out a roar of rage. Trying to find out where the arrows had come from. _"The odds are better now just two to one but we are still outnumbered."_ I thought to myself.

The twins burst from the trees with a battle cry and the thirst for battle in their eyes. Mowing down two orcs before they knew what hit them. The orc captain gave a hurried order in the black speech. The order seemed to be an attack order as the six remaining orcs swarmed the twins.

I made to move into the clearing but my brother threw out his arm to block me. "Wait tithen gwathel," he whispered.

I turned with an inquiring look trying to figure out why we weren't in the clearing as well.

My brother turned to face me and seeing my look answered my unasked question. "The reason we are waiting tithen gwathel is that we still have the element of surprise if the twins need help we can help them but right now they are doing fine without us."

As my brother finished speaking we both turned back to look at the clearing in the short time my brother had been talking the twins had killed four of the six remaining orcs now only two remained. The two remaining orcs charged with a snarl only to be met with the gleaming swords of the twins that promised death to their foes.

I watched the twins as they made quick work of the orcs. Their fighting style was graceful and deadly. If the twins hadn't been on a battlefield I could have sworn they were dancing. My thoughts were cut short as the twins decapitated their opponents. As I looked into their eyes I couldn't help but shiver at the dark emotions swirling in their eyes it made me want to turn and run from them.

My brother made his way to the twins but I found I couldn't move from my spot. I could hear my brother speaking to the twins.

"Good work Elladan, Elrohir let's burn the orcs corpses." The twins nodded in silent agreement. "Tithen gwathel why don't you go get some water there is a stream not far from here."

I felt gratitude well up within me. My brother knew I was not ready to face the twins yet especially after watching the gruesome battle. "Right away gwador nin," I spoke with a calmness I didn't feel. I turned making my way back into the trees it wasn't long before I heard the gurgling of a stream and headed for it.

Arathorn's POV

As I finished speaking with the twins I turned to see my sister still standing where I had left her. Her face seemed blank and calm. I knew differently though inside she was in turmoil over what she had just seen. I was used to the twins being like this when we hunted orcs but she wasn't. I knew she wasn't ready to face the twins yet so I gave her an excuse to go off by herself to sort out her thoughts.

I watched her make her way back into the trees before turning to help the twins gather the orcs in a pile so we could burn them. I watched the fire lick threw the pile of corpses greedily before turning and walking away from the horrible stench.

I noticed the twins were looking around the clearing as if looking for someone.

"Where is Brina?" Elladan finally asked me.

 _"They must not have heard me tell Brina to go find some water."_ I thought to myself before answering Elladan's question. "I sent her to get water from a nearby stream."

The twins shared a confused look before Elrohir spoke. "Why would you send Brina to get water?"

I let out a sigh hoping I wouldn't have to explain this to them but it looks like I was going to have to. "She needed some time to herself," I said hoping to skirt the issue.

"Is she alright? She has been acting strange around us for a while." Elladan asked.

"She is fine mellon nin she is just not used to seeing you both like this. I think you both have scared her." I told them. "You forget I am used to the way you act when we go orc hunting but this is her first time on an orc hunt with you."

The twins shared a stunned look before guilt took its place. "We didn't mean to scare Brina. We will apologize to her when she gets back." Elrohir whispered.

"I know you didn't mellon nin," I said encouragingly with a hand on their shoulders. "I will go check on her."

The only response I got was a nod of the head from them before moving off in the direction my sister had headed.

Brina's POV

I neared the stream watching the water peacefully flow by trying to soak up some of the peace. For my mind was in turmoil trying to reconcile the friends I knew with the cold warriors I had seen. I sat down by a tree leaning my back against its rough bark. I closed my eyes with a sigh. _"What am I going to do?"_ I asked myself. My thoughts were interrupted when I felt my brother's presence beside me.

"Are you alright tithen gwathel?"

"No gwador nin but I will be in time," I responded as silence settled around us.

"The twins are worried about you they were asking where you were. I filled them in on the situation." my brother's voice broke the quiet around us.

My eyes flew open as I turned to look at my brother to stunned to speak a word.

My brother noticed my face rushed to speak. "They would like to apologize to you. They feel bad for scaring you and for forgetting this is your first time on an orc hunt with them."

I remained silent as my brother finished speaking before standing and turning to look at my brother. His face seemed unsure in the face of my silence. I decided he had suffered in silence long enough. "Let's not keep them waiting then," I said as I held out my hand with a bright smile.

My brother returned the smile as he took my hand. "Yes lets tithen gwathel."

I still felt hesitation as we made our way back to the clearing where the twins were located. I noticed the horrible stench from the burning orc corpses first as we entered the clearing.

"That smells horrible," I said loudly as I wrinkled my nose at the smell.

"It certainly does tithen gwathel I have been doing this for many years and I still am not used to the smell." my brother replied.

"You are such an encouragement gwador nin," I said sarcastically. A snort of laughter drew my attention to the twins as they laughed at our banter. _"They seem more like themselves."_ I thought as I looked at them.

I couldn't find any words to say feeling suddenly nervous around my friends. I found I couldn't look them in the eyes.

I didn't notice the look the twins shared before making their way over to me.

"Brina." Elladan's voice called my name.

I looked up to find the twins standing right in front of me. I looked between the two silently.

"We would like to apologize for scaring you. We forgot you had never been out on an orc hunt with us." Elrohir spoke next.

"Will you forgive us?" Elladan picked up where his twin left off.

"Of course I forgive you both. It is just hard to reconcile the friends I know with the warriors I just saw. It frightens me." I spoke honestly.

Without a word, the twins pulled me into a hug. I felt much of my worries and fears slip away at that moment. We stayed like that for a while before I pulled back to look into their faces.

"Thank you for forgiving us mellon nin," Elrohir whispered.

"Anytime my friends," I replied before turning around to find my brother smiling at all of us. I smiled back at him. "How about hunting down the rest of these orcs so we can go home?"

The twins looked stunned by my words for a moment before nodding their heads in agreement. I looked at my brother to find him nodding his head as well. "Let's go hunt some orc because I am ready to go home."

My brother and the twins laughed at my words but couldn't help silently agreeing with me as we set out to track down the rest of the orcs.


	5. August

Chapter Five

T.A. August 2905

Brina's POV

We had found the second orc pack with little trouble and even though this pack was larger than the first with about thirty orcs. We were just as successful in destroying these orcs with no injuries to ourselves which was a welcome surprise. We were now trying to track down the last of the three orc packs which was proving harder than we originally thought.

" _How hard can it be to find such a large orc pack?"_ I thought to myself with growing irritation. I wasn't alone in my frustration either. We were all growing weary and ready to head back home. The day ended in failure unable to pick up the last orc packs trail. It started to grow dark around us. Arathorn and I were starting to have trouble seeing what was ahead of us.

"Elladan. Elrohir." my brother called to the twins who seemed to be having no trouble seeing in the dark. "Let's make camp for the night. We won't be able to see anything in this growing darkness for all we know we could have walked right past the orcs trail."

The twins were silent for several seconds not being able to track down this last orc pack had been frustrating them the most. "You are right mellon nin let's make camp for the night. We just passed a small clearing not that far back." Elladan said with a sigh.

We made our way back the way we had come. The beauty of the night was lost on all of us in our weariness. It didn't take us long to find the clearing and we immediately started setting up camp. As I did my part the headache that I had had all day was steadily getting worse. It wasn't helped by the fact that the twins and my brother were having an argument about something I couldn't hear. Instead of doing the logical thing and telling them to be quiet. I made the decision to slip off into the surrounding darkness to find some peace and quiet hoping to get rid of my pounding headache. Without a word I stepped back into the dark forest the twins and my brother didn't even notice my departure. I walked for a ways before I found an oak tree almost like the one back home. Homesickness swept over me how I missed my home and ada. Just then my headache spiked to blinding pain. _"Oh no, this isn't just a normal headache. I haven't had a vision in months."_ I thought to myself. I tried to relax and not resist the vision. No matter how hard I tried I just couldn't get myself to relax with the stress of the last couple of weeks then I was no longer seeing the forest around me. I saw a battlefield there were orcs everywhere. I saw Elladan and Elrohir fighting back to back bloodlust and rage clearly written on their faces as countless orcs fell to their swords. I looked around to find my brother only to see him unmoving on the ground. I couldn't tell if he was just injured or dead. Then just like that, the vision ended.

I once again was back in the dark forest my heart was pounding and I was breathing heavily like I had just run a race. I was trying to come to terms with what I had just seen. I breathed deeply trying to calm myself. _"Did I just see my brother's death? No, I will protect him."_ I was so lost in my thoughts I didn't notice my brother had joined me with concern written all over his face.

"Tithen gwathel what are you doing out here?" he asked me relief now replacing the concern.

" _I can't tell him or the twins what I saw."_ I thought to myself. Out loud I said. "I just needed somepeace and quiet gwador nin. I had a headache and the argument with the twins wasn't helping." I hoped my brother wouldn't ask any more questions but my hope was in vain for my brother had known me too long not to know when I wasn't telling the whole truth.

"Is your headache better now?" my brother asked with concern.

"Yes, gwador nin my headache is gone now. Let's go back to camp."

I rose to my feet avoiding my brother's eyes. Just as I was about to head back to camp my brother's arm prevented me.

"Wait a moment gwathel nin did you have a vision."

I let out a small sigh before deciding to just answer his question and save myself some trouble. "Yes I had a vision but I don't want to talk about it."

I quickly started heading back to camp while my brother was momentarily stunned by my answer. As I headed back to camp my brother quickly joined me.

"Gwathel nin I really wish you would tell me what you saw in your vision but I understand if you don't want to talk about it."

Guilt hit me as my brother spoke those words. "Gwador nin I love you dearly but I just don't want to talk about what I saw."

My brother noticed how I was struggling. "It is alright tithen gwathel just know that if you need someone to talk to I am here."

I stopped walking and my brother quickly did the same. I hugged my brother tightly I could feel he was stunned for a second before hugging me back. "I know gwador nin," I whispered quietly.

We resumed walking and were soon back in our camp. A fire was burning brightly in the middle of the clearing with our gear scattered around but the twins were nowhere to be seen. I turned to my brother. "Where are the twins?"

"The twins went to gather some more firewood."

I nodded my head in understanding and started pulling out the food for supper. Just as I was finishing the twins returned with enough firewood to last the rest of the night. The twins didn't say a word about my disappearing act and we started eating our food in silence. The silence continued as I gathered the extra food and put it away. I didn't feel like talking so I decided to get ready for bed. I broke the silence.

"Good night," I told them.

"Good night Brina." they chorused as I headed to bed.

I climbed into my sleeping roll. I felt my eyes drifting closed quickly as the exhaustion of the day caught up with me. _"I can't wait to be back in my own bed again."_ I thought to myself tiredly before sleep took me.

Unknown to me the twins and my brother had been watching me closely. "Where was Brina?" Elrohir whispered.

"She went a little ways into the forest. She said our disagreement was making her headache worse." Arathorn answered.

"A headache? Did she have a vision?" Elladan asked.

"Yes she did but she wouldn't tell me what it was about. Her face was as white as a sheet so it must have been bad."

The twins were silent for a moment then Elrohir spoke. "If she doesn't want to talk about it we won't press her."

"Thank you mellon nin I know she will appreciate that. I am hoping in time she will share what she saw in her vision. I think I am going to head to bed wake me when it is my watch. Good night" Arathorn said as he moved to his bedroll.

"Good night Arathorn." the twins replied.

The twins watched as their friends slept. "I wonder what Brina saw that would keep her from telling Arathorn." Elladan spoke quietly to his twin.

"I don't know Elladan but it must be bad," Elrohir said grimly as he looked over at the sleeping young woman. "I think I will get some sleep as well Elladan."

"Sleep well Elrohir," Elladan told him before settling in to keep watch.

As I slept I had no way of knowing we would soon find the trail of the last orc pack. I also had no way of knowing my horrifying vision would soon come to pass.


	6. September

Chapter Six

T.A. September 2905

Brina's POV

No matter how I tried over the last couple weeks I couldn't get the vision of my brother's motionless body out of my mind. It haunted my sleep every night and I would awake with a racing heart. If my companions noticed anything was amiss they chose not to say anything for which I was very grateful. I pushed these gloomy thoughts to the back of my tired mind choosing instead to look at the beautiful day around us. The sky was a crisp blue with puffy white clouds floating lazily by. The sun shone down on us with warm golden light that warmed us and reminded us that summer would soon be coming to an end. A light breeze danced through our hair making me smile. I could almost imagine we weren't hunting down a group of orcs for a second. The only thing that cheered me was that we would soon be going home.

 _"I am ready to head home and see ada,"_ I thought to myself wearily.

I was bringing up the rear my brother was ahead of me and just beyond him, the twins led the way. My brother turned around to look at me.

"What making sure I didn't decide to head home?" I teased with a tired smile.

My brother was silent for a moment taking in my tired face. "Maybe." My brother responded with a smile of his own before his face turned serious. "Don't worry tithen gwathel we will be heading home in no time."

"I can't wait to go home and see ada. But..." I let the word hang in the air between us.

"But what?" my brother asked with concern.

"It's nothing gwador nin," I told him.

"If it was nothing you wouldn't have said it. Does this have anything to do with your vision a couple of weeks ago?" my brother asked me quietly.

 _"I should have known my brother was too observant especially where it concerns me."_ I thought with a groan.

"Maybe." I finally spoke.

"You know if you need to talk I am always willing to listen." My brother replied gripping my shoulder.

"I know gwador nin I just don't want to talk about what I saw." I snapped.

My brother released my shoulder quickly turning around to start walking but not before I saw the hurt in his eyes.

I rushed toward him wrapping my arms around him in a backward hug. "I am sorry for snappinggwador nin I didn't mean to snap at you. I love you dearly!"

"I forgive you tithen gwathel." my brother responded turning to gather me into a tight hug before releasing me.

As we both started walking I debated with myself on telling him about the bad feeling I had. I finally decided to just tell him.

"Its just I have a really bad feeling gwador nin," I whispered quietly but my brother heard me turning to look at me.

"What have I told you about feelings tithen gwathel?"

"To never ignore feelings," I said.

"Exactly!"

I could tell my brother was getting ready to say more but at that moment we caught up with the twins who had stopped.

I noticed the trees had thinned out and the ground got rockier farther up the path. The twins were examining the tracks on the ground. As I waited I noticed the mountains ahead of us and the bad feeling intensified.

"Are these the mountains?" I asked my brother.

"Yes, this is the beginning of the Misty Mountains." My brother answered.

Just then the twins stood up turning to face us.

"The orcs have headed into the Misty Mountains," Elladan said grimly.

"If we hurry we can catch them and destroy them." Elrohir said the dark look back in his eyes.

My brother looked at the pair before speaking. "We will head after them tomorrow but for tonight let's camp here for it will soon be dark."

The twins looked as if they wanted to argue with my brother but after a while, they nodded their heads in agreement.

"You two set up camp. Elrohir and I will go gather firewood." Elladan said before they disappeared.

After I was sure the twins were far enough away not to hear my words I turned to face my brother. "Is it wise to follow the orcs into the mountains? The orcs will clearly have the advantage."

"I know tithen gwathel but it is no use arguing with them. They will go with or without us. I am not letting my friends go alone but if you want to wait for us I would understand." my brother said.

For a second I again saw my brother laying on the ground motionless. I shook the vision off beforeanswering. "Where you go I am going even if I think this is a bad idea."

My brother gave me a small smile before turning to finish setting up camp.

" _I just hope I can protect you gwador nin."_ I thought to myself before turning to finish my task. Silence settled over the camp as we settled in for the night. That night the vision returned to me as vivid as the day I first saw it.

Vision...

Fighting. Fighting for our lives. Orcs are everywhere. Just when you kill one it seems like three more take its place. My brother is behind me. We are fighting back to back and we are growing tired. I can't see the twins anywhere. I don't know if they are alive or dead. I turn back to look at my brother to find him lying on the ground. I turn to run to him screaming his name and everything fades to black.

Real world...

"Aaarrrttthhhooorrrnn!" I scream as I jerk awake my heart is pounding and I am breathing heavy like I have run a marathon. _"Was that some kind of warning?"_ I wonder to myself as I become more awake. I am startled out of my thoughts by someone shaking my shoulder.

"Brina, tithen gwathel, Brina answer me." My brother's voice calls sounding frightened.

I look up into the worried eyes of my brother and the twins. "Sorry to wake you all it was just a bad dream."

"Are you sure tithen gwathel?" My brother asked.

"Yes, I am sure again sorry to wake you all," I said as I prepared to lay back down. I noticed the twins had been silent throughout our exchange.

"Sounded like I was dying in your dream." my brother said jokingly as he looked down at his bedroll not noticing how I stiffened by the time he looked back up I had schooled my features into a smile.

" _If only you knew how close to being right you are gwador nin."_ I thought to myself as I laid back down. I felt eyes watching me and turned to find the twins staring right at me. _"Oh no I may have fooled my brother but I haven't fooled the twins. Those two are never going to let this go."_

Despite my worries sleep quickly tugged me back into its welcoming embrace.

My worries had not been totally unfounded for the next morning as soon as the twins got a chance I found myself cornered by them.

"What was your dream about Brina? Why did you flinch when Arathorn said something about him dying? He might not have noticed but we did." Elrohir asked in a demanding tone of voice.

"I don't want to talk about it now let it go," I told him as Elladan watched everything silently.

I started walking away quickly but the twins were far from ready to give up. The more they pushed for answers the more frustrated I got finally I felt my calm composure snap.

"Fine, I saw my brother lying on the ground like he was dead," I screamed as tears streamed down my cheeks. The twins seemed shocked by my outburst and didn't move as I turned to run into the surrounding trees. I didn't notice my brother as I ran away desperate to find a place to sit down and cry.

I made my way to the stream where we had gotten water and lost myself in my tears.

"Tithen gwathel what is wrong? Why are you crying?" My brother asked.

I found I couldn't answer him and only started crying harder. The next thing I knew my brother pulled me into his arms rocking me and stroking my hair. After a while, my tears finally stopped.

"Are you ready to tell me what is wrong?" my brother whispered softly to me.

I nodded my head slowly and before I knew it I had blurted my whole terrifying vision to him. As I finished speaking I burst into tears again. My brother was silent a moment before pulling me into another hug.

"My poor little sister why would you keep this all to yourself that is a horrible burden to bear." My brother said to me as my tears slowed again.

"I thought if I didn't speak it. It wouldn't happen like my other visions." I told him hugging him tightly.

A voice startled us both. "Brina we are sorry for pushing you to talk about your vision and making you cry." Elladan apologized for the both of them.

"I forgive you both and I am sorry for screaming at you," I said as I washed my face off. "Let's hunt down the rest of the orcs and be done with it."

No words passed between us as we packed up our camp and made our way into the mountains.

We found that tracking the orcs down in the mountains was going to be harder than we thought. It took us awhile but we finally found the orcs trail. The twins were kneeling down on the trail ahead of us but when they turned to face us. Their faces were a mix of rage and grimness.

"The orcs have joined up with another orc pack. There are about one hundred orcs.." Elrohir told us.

"We need to careful." my brother whispered.

"We need to leave. We are severely outnumbered." I told them.

Just then we heard the tramping of heavy feet headed toward us. I felt fear slither down my spine.

"I don't think that is an option anymore." my brother told me. "Stay near me."

As we drew our weapons I noticed this looked like the place from my vision. _"No no this can't be happening. Whatever happens, I must protect my brother."_

I found myself back to back with my brother as the orcs charged. I heard rather than saw the twins charge the orcs then there was no time for anything else. I brought my first orc down with a slash to its throat then I lost count of the orcs I killed.

" _Is there no end to the orcs?"_ I thought to myself tiredly. We now were surrounded by the orc corpses and more orcs kept on coming.

I looked around for the twins but they were nowhere to be seen. "Surely the twins aren't dead?" I whispered to myself.

Something made me turn to look at my brother. I turned just in time to see him fall but not before killing the orc that had injured him. For a second I felt as if time came to a screeching halt. My mind refused to believe what I was seeing for a moment. I finally came out of my stupor rushing to brother's side screaming his name. Blood was pouring from a wound to his side but no matter how I called his name he wouldn't wake up.

I felt tears pour down my cheeks as I put pressure on his wound. I was jerked out of my thoughts by the sound of orcish laughter. I looked up into the evil faces of the orcs surrounding us. The orcs were greatly amused by my tears and pain. I felt a new emotion take hold of me. Anger. I started shaking with my anger. I felt something else something I had never felt before that was being fed by my anger. It slithered under my skin begging to be unleashed.

"You will pay for this orc filth." I snarled.

The orcs just continued to laugh until a bright light burst from my body in a wave. Darkness clawed at my sight and I knew nothing as I collapsed beside my brother. Dead to the world around me.

Elladan's POV

Rage and bloodlust were all I knew. I knew my twin and I were outnumbered that we were probably going to die. I found I didn't care as long as I took as many orcs down with me as I could.

I wasn't sure how much time had passed when a single thought broke me out of my rage. _"Where are Brina and Arathorn?"_

I looked around frantically but I couldn't see either of them. "Please don't let them be dead," I whispered to myself.

Just then a bright light blinded me and Elrohir for a second.

"What was that Elladan?" Elrohir asked me when we both could see again.

"I don't know Elrohir but we need to find Brina and Arathorn."

I saw the same panic I felt take hold of my twin. We rushed over to the spot the light had come from orcs corpses were all around some killed by swords most killed by the mysterious blast not one orc remained. I looked for our friends and felt my heart stop for a moment. In the middle of the dead orcs lay Arathorn and Brina.

"No!" I heard Elrohir cry as we both ran over to our friends.

When we reached them the siblings looked almost dead I was afraid to touch them but I shook my fear off. Kneeling down beside Brina knowing my twin was kneeling down beside Arathorn.

Brina looked as if she was dead she was extremely pale. I reached out my hand to feel her neck and found a pulse. I released the breath I didn't realize I had been holding. I tried to shake her awake when I didn't see any obvious injuries that would explain her unconsciousness but no matter how I tried I couldn't wake her.

I looked up to see how my brother was fairing with Arathorn. "How is he brother?"

"He has a wound on his side that looks poisoned. We need to get him to father." Elrohir told me as he staunched Arathorn's wound.

"How is Brina?" my brother asked me.

"She is unconscious but I can't see any obvious signs of injury."

"Elladan do you think Brina is the one the bright light came from that killed all of the orcs," Elrohir asked me.

For a second shock rippled through me as I looked down at the unconscious young women. It made sense now that I thought about it. Who knows what Brina was capable of. "Yes, I do Elrohir."

"How are we going to get them to Imladris? We don't have any horses and they need immediate care." my twin asked me.

"We are going to have to carry them and hope we get them to adar in time," I told Elrohir as I moved to pick up Brina. I watched as Elrohir picked up Arathorn.

" _We could really use a miracle."_ I thought to myself.

Just then my sharp hearing picked up the noise of horses headed our way. "Do you hear that Elrohir?"

"Yes, I just hope they are friends," Elrohir said.

We didn't have long to wait. I sighed in relief at who I saw. Glorfindel with a patrol I had never been so glad to see the golden elf in all my long years.

"Glorfindel I have never been happier to see you in my life," I called gladly.

"Elrondions! What have you gotten yourself into this time?" he asked as he made his way through the corpses. "We saw a bright light that is why we came. What is wrong with Brina and Arathorn? Glorfindel cried with dismay.

"Questions can wait we need to get these two to adar quickly.

"Move out." Glorfindel called. "we just happen to have two extra horses with us. I wouldn't be able to convince you both to let someone else carry our friends."

"No," I stated firmly

"I didn't think so." Glorfindel sighed

We moved to the horses quickly mounting with our unconscious friends in front of us. We set off quickly. I clutched Brina to my chest tightly as I rode.

" _Please be alright. This is all our fault."_ I thought to myself as we galloped toward Imladris. I didn't have to look at Elrohir to know that the same guilt I felt was etched on his face as well or to know that Elrohir clutched Arathorn just as tightly as I clutched Brina.

All I knew was that the race was on to save Arathorn and Brina's lives.


End file.
